(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey is a early 20th century song written by Hughie Cannon in 1902 and published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser. The piece, originally titled Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home, tells a humorous tale about Bill Bailey and the trouble in his marriage that keeps him away from home. It quickly became a Dixieland jazz standard, with the first 1902 recordings by Arthur Collins and Dan W. Quinn helping it spread in the jazz world. The tune is built on a simple 32-bar chorus and has underpinned many other classic tunes in jazz bands, making it a staple of Dixieland and traditional jazz repertoires. Over the decades it has been recorded by numerous artists, including Bobby Darin in 1960 who scored a chart hit, and it has appeared in various albums and film and TV performances, cementing its lasting popularity.
